The Entertainment Software Association has just released its annual report.
The 2011 Essential Facts study was conducted by Ipsos MediaCT and consisted of a poll of 1,200 console-owning households. The ESA has been commissioning this study for several years and uses the results as its main talking points whenever it has to represent the gaming industry.
![](https://images.assettype.com/tgdaily/2016-09/40f52afa-5091-4dc6-8f15-666aced46f07/gamer_0.jpg)
This year, it found the average game player is 37, which means most of them have probably been playing games their whole adult life.
18% of gamers are under the age of 18, 53% are between 18 and 49, and 29% are over 50. These statistics have steadily and consistently gone up every year, proving that gaming is not just some phase that kids go through; it’s a new form of entertainment that is as timeless as movies or music.
Another interesting statistic is the gender divide; while males do account for the majority of gamers, it’s not a vast majority. 42% of this country’s gamers are women, while 58% are men.
Some skeptics scoff at the ESA’s annual findings because it considers anyone who plays a casual PC game, like solitaire, as a gamer. But then again, that is still a video game. In total, the ESA says that 81 million households in the US now include at least one person who plays games – that’s 72% of the country.
In addition to lobbying on behalf of game companies, the Washington, DC-based ESA is the parent organization of the game ratings board (ESRB) and manages the world’s largest annual video game trade show, E3.